A Purrfect Alibi

Marlowe’s tail swished back and forth and her tone took on an air of importance. “We talked to Jedediah Biddeford’s ghost himself. Turns out he hasn’t spoken to any of them.”

“Not even Madame Zenda?” Poe asked.

“Nope, she made it up.”

“Humans always confound me,” Harry said. “Why would anyone lie about talking to a ghost?”

Juliette hopped down from the lobster trap, her pads making a soft thud as she landed on the wharf. Her eyes gleamed with excitement as she causally said, “Maybe it has something to do with the movie.”

“Movie?” Boots must have been surprised at that news because he lost his grip on the whiskers he’d been grooming and they sprung back into a tight curl. He quickly set about smoothing them again.

Juliette fluffed her tail. “Yes, a producer was in to talk with Father Tim about a movie he wants to produce about Jed’s ghost and the treasure. He wanted to set some of the scenes in the church and cemetery.”

“Why would they set scenes in the church?” Stubbs asked.

Juliette shrugged. “Who knows? At first, Father Tim didn’t like the whole idea. He felt it was sacrilegious, but then the producer mentioned the donation to St. Michael’s could be quite hefty. Apparently a movie like this would make a lot of money.”

“Ahhh, money.” Boots started pacing. “It’s usually the root of the crime. That explains why all these psychics are really here. They must have gotten wind of the movie and wanted to reap the rewards. Madame Zenda lied so she could be the one in the spotlight.”

“And someone else wanted to make sure she didn’t get it, so they offed her,” Stubbs said.

“But it might not be one of the guests,” Nero pointed out. “Anita Pendragon has been lurking around the place too.”

“And she was the first one to discover the body,” Marlowe added.

“The director did say it could make any of the people involved very famous.” Juliet trotted over to a lobster trap and poked around inside for any scraps of bait that might be left.

“People?” Marlowe’s eyes narrowed. “What about cats? We’re the ones that Jed is actually talking to!”

“Don’t be silly, cats never get credit. But if they did have cats they would use feline actors just like they use human actors for people.” Juliette fluffed up her tail to its fullest. Nero thought it looked like a long gray toilet brush, but Juliette claimed that her fluffy tail was a sign of delicate beauty. “They try to choose cats that have a certain aesthetic appeal. I was thinking I could play Nero if I get discovered. I tried to call attention to myself by jumping on the producer’s lap and fluffing my tail in his face but all he did was sneeze and shoo me away.”

Boots preened his whiskers. “Just as well. I think I would be a better choice. They need a cat with brains.”

Nero scowled at Boots. Was that a compliment or an insult?

Boots continued, “Hopefully they’d pick actors that look better than the actual people, too. Take that Victor with his odd mustache. He won’t look good on the big screen.” Boots patted his mustache with his paw as if to highlight how much better looking his mustache was.

“Your mustache is much nicer than that Victor’s,” Juliet said.

The other cats rolled their eyes, echoing Nero’s thoughts that Juliette didn’t need to inflate Boots’ ego any more than it already was.

“You’ve seen Victor?” Harry asked. Good point. When had the other cats seen Victor?

“Yes. Father Tim and the producer were talking on the church steps and I was trying to highlight my acting abilities by skulking in the bushes when I startled a man who appeared to be lurking around the corner of the church. I thought he was eavesdropping, but then he came right over to Father Tim and introduced himself.”

“Did he say why he was there?” Harry asked.

“Not really. He had on the most luxurious velvet jogging suit in a deep plum. I couldn’t help but run my paws over it.” Juliette sighed and looked off into the distance as if remembering the soft feel of the velvet. “I think he was hinting around at playing the lead in the movie though.”

Nero’s whiskers twitched. “Victor was at the church? Was this before or after Madame Zenda was murdered?”

“Oh, it was before. That very morning, in fact,” Juliette said.

Nero glanced at Marlowe. Victor knew about the movie. Funny though, Nero hadn’t heard Victor mention that to the others. Which made him wonder just how far Victor would go to make sure he got the lead.

Thirteen

On the walk to the car, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw my daughter’s name on the display. “Oh, it’s Emma. I’m going to take this.”

My mom’s eyes lit up and she yelled into the phone as I was answering, “Hi, honey! Hope you’re having a good time.”

“Was that Grandma?” Emma asked as I pressed the phone to my ear and sidled away from my mother.